EU legislationEuropean legislation has sought to prohibit the use of asbestos, and to set strict standards for the protection of workers when they may be exposed. The following are some of the relevant directives.
Step by step the European Union has developed its asbestos regulation:• Council Directive 83/477/EEC of 19 September 1983 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos at work,• modified by Council Directive 91/382/EEC of 25 June 1991,• and amended by Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998.• Directive 1999/77/EC of the European Union bans all types of utilization of the asbestos from 1st January 2005.• Directive 2003/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 March 2003 bans the extraction of asbestos and the manufacture and processing of asbestos products.

Now, the problem of exposure to asbestos in the course of removal, demolition, servicing and maintenance activities comes to the forefront.See the texts of the directives (as well as the consolidated text produced by the CONSLEG system of the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities): CLICK HERE.

National legislationA comprehensive entry to the national safety and health at work protection systems of the EU member states has been compiled by OSHA in the relevant languages: CLICK HERE